Road Tripping in New England

The first few weeks of October are often the best time to take a relaxing New England road trip: no crowds, no traffic, sunlight and foliage. Our trip was spontaneous and planned last minute but it worked out perfectly. Here is how we did it:

We woke up one Saturday morning early, and started driving north on 128 toward Gloucester. Our first stop was the Beach Street Café on Beach Street in Manchester by the Sea. They open at 6am on weekends so we stopped by grabbed some delicious banana pancakes, eggs and bacon and some hot chocolate. We took our brown bags all the way down the street to Singing Beach. At this time of year, there are hardly any people here except for the locals enjoying a walk on the beach or a very chilly swim. You can park your car right in the parking lot and within seconds you can dig your feet into the refreshing sand and enjoy a delicious Saturday morning. We took in the views, the smells and went on a walk to the rocks on either side. Make sure to bring a sweatshirt and a blanket to sit on! The beautiful sunny morning, the warm smell of breakfast and the salty breeze reminded me why I love it here. New England is in the turning leaves and the singing sand and the crisp, clear water. If you don't drive, you can still enjoy Singing Beach by taking the Rockport line commuter rail train to the Manchester-by-the-Sea stop. The stop is a ten minute walk to the beach!

Around 11 am, we got back in our cars and headed to 95 North. Our next stop was to be Boothbay Harbor, Maine about 2.5 hours away from Manchester-by-the-Sea. The drive is picturesque and relaxing as you might expect. In Maine, we briefly stopped in Wiscasset to take a look at the cute antique stores and the small town. Right before the bridge, there is a cute crab shack if you are hungry!

Our first destination in Boothbay Harbor was The Lobster Dock. We were on a mission to find the East Coast's best crab cakes and we did! Bobby Flay was right on Throwdown: these really were the best crab cakes I have ever eaten and paired with clam chowder, they were divine. At The Lobster Dock we sat outside, ordered some beers, and enjoyed the view of the harbor from their deck.